Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,837 shares of the company’s stock after selling 324 shares during the quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 11.2% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Tevis Investment Management grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 4.8 %

PG stock opened at $162.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.45. The firm has a market cap of $381.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.